Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 5:2 and following. Indeed, at the end of Ps 4, we saw the believer lie down and fall asleep in peace. We consider him here when he wakes up. Piety must mark every moment of our lives, including those we spend alone in our room. Dt 6:4-9 invites us to give its place to the word of God, in the morning and in the evening, inside and out. From dawn, the very first occupation of his day, the psalmist’s prayer went up to his King, to his God (Ps 63:1-3). Let’s imitate him, dear believer friends, with all the more eagerness and freedom because the God to whom we turn is, in Jesus, our Father. In Ps. 4 the prayer had an urgent character and was reduced to a simple cry. This is enough for God to listen to. But here the request is arranged, formulated in a precise way, after which the faithful can peacefully wait for an answer that he must not seek to obtain otherwise. It is remarkable that what applies to enemies is quoted in Rom 3:9-18 to describe all men, including you and me. This is explained in Rom 5. 10: We were all enemies of God in our thoughts, through our evil works (Col 1:21-23).
Having prayed to God to grant his requests, he now begs Him to hurry. He alludes to the morning prayers that were not to be joined to the daily sacrifices in the temple, according to the law’s name. Although constrained by the weariness of a somewhat prolonged delay, he desires that his deliverance be hastened; as if he had said, “As soon as I wake up, this will be the first subject of my thoughts. Therefore, Lord, do not delay in the help I need, but now grant my desires. Rather, David intends to declare that he was not shot here and there, nor attracted in different ways by the temptations to which he was exposed, but that surrendering to God was the order of his life. He clearly states that it is his determination not to be removed to any degree from his orderly walk in the indirect and diverted paths of error and sin, but to come directly to God. In the exercise of desire, there is always a certain degree of discomfort; but he who seeks God’s grace with anxious desire, will wait patiently for it.
The pious man still considers the evil powers that wage war on the Lord, but he anticipates His victory and deliverance. In the morning and in the evening, day and night, these psalms present us with the model of a complete faith in God. Different fruits depending on the season. Thus Jesus could “weep” and could also “rejoice in spirit.” Every season found in Him the expected fruit, and all was beautiful; for everything came at his time. He knew in what spirit to set out for the holy mountain in Matthew 17, and in what spirit to undertake his last journey to Jerusalem (Mark 10:32). He knew how to be lowered and to be in abundance, perfect in all circumstances.
For he did not like so many words as to use different forms of expression, which had no meaning; but being deeply committed to prayer, he represented, by these various expressions, the variety of his complaints. This means, therefore, that he prayed neither coldly nor in just a few words; but that, according to the vehemence of his sorrow pressed him, he was serious in mourning his calamities before God; and that since it was not immediately apparent what their problem would be, he persevered in repeating the same complaints. Again, he does not expressly state what he desires to ask of God: but there is greater force in this kind of suppression, than if he had spoken distinctly. By not pronouncing the desires of his heart, he shows more emphatically that his inner feelings, which he brought with him before God, were such that language was insufficient to express them.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Prayer of a man received into the house of the Lord:
· Imploring God, crying out to God, examples
Ex 2:23 Long after, the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel were still groaning under bondage, and screaming. These cries, snatched from them by servitude, ascended to God. Jg 3:9 The children of Israel cried out to The Lord, and the Lord raised up a liberator for them, Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 1 Sam 7:9 Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it whole as a holocaust to the Lord. He cried out to Jehovah for Israel, and Jehovah answered him. 2 Ch 14:11 The Lord struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. Ps 34:6 When one looks to him, one is radiant with joy, and the face is not covered with shame. Ps 61:2 O God! listen to my cries, Be attentive to my prayer! Lm 2:18 Their hearts cry out to the Lord… Wall of the daughter of Zion, pour out torrents of tears day and night! Do not give you any relaxation, and let your eye have no rest!
· Looking to God for inspiration and help
Ps 34:6 When one looks to him, one is radiant with joy, And the face is not covered with shame Ps 123:1 Song of degrees, I raise my eyes to you, Who sit in heaven. Jn 11:41 So they removed the stone. And Jesus looked up, and said, Father, I thank you for what you have answered to me. John 17:1 After speaking in this way, Jesus rolled his eyes and said, Father, the hour has come! Glorify your Son, that your Son might glorify you, Acts 1:10 And as they looked to heaven as he was leaving, behold, two men dressed in white appeared to them, Acts 7:55, but Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, and staring at heaven, saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
· Life of prayer, continual pilgrimage
Ps 5:4 Eternal! in the morning you hear my voice; In the morning I turn to you, and I look. Ps 119:147 I preempt the dawn and cry out; I hope in your promises. Lk 2:37 I pre-empt the dawn and cry out; I hope in your promises. Acts 10:2 This man was pious and feared God, with his whole house; he gave many alms to the people, and prayed to God continuously. 1 Thess 3:10 Night and day, we pray with extreme zeal to allow us to see you, and to complete what is missing from your faith. 1 Tim 5:5 The one who is truly widowed, and who has remained in isolation, puts her hope in God and perseveres night and day in supplications and prayers.
· Examples of righteous men dominated by the Fear of God
Neh 5:15 Before me, the first governors overwhelmed the people, and received from them bread and wine, in addition to forty sicles of money; their servants themselves oppressed the people. I did not do so, out of fear of God. Jb 1:8 Jehovah said to Satan, Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one like him on earth; he is a man of integrity and righteousness, fearing God, and turning away from evil. Jon 1:9, 16 He answered them: I am Hebrew, and I fear Jehovah, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the earth. 16 These men were seized with a great fear of The Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and made vows. Acts 5:11 A great fear took hold of the whole assembly and all those who learned these things. Acts 9:31 The Church was at peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, rising and walking in fear of the Lord, and she grew by the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Acts 10:2 This man was pious and feared God, with his whole house; he gave many alms to the people, and prayed to God continuously.
From all the above, we note that the word ‘cry’ which means a loud and sonorous statement of the voice, serves to mark the seriousness of the desire of King David who did not cry out on deaf ears; and the vehemence of his sorrow and inner anguish burst into this cry. By this cry, he hears a confused whisper, as described in the Song of Hezekiah, when sadness prevented him from speaking distinctly and making his voice be heard. “Like a crane or a swallow, I also chatted; I cried like a colombe. If then, every time we are behind to pray, or our pious affections begin to lose their fervor, here we must look for arguments to speed ourselves up and push ourselves forward. And as in calling God ‘his king and his God’, he intended to impel himself to entertain more vivid and favorable hopes on the question of his afflictions; let us learn to apply these titles to a similar use, namely for the purpose of familiarizing ourselves with God. In the end, he testifies that he does not gnaw the bit with a sullen air, as unbelievers are used to do; but directs his groans to God: for those who, in contempt of God, worry inwardly or address their complaints to men, are not worthy of being considered by him. So saying ‘When I Pray to You’ seems to be the reason David attributes to what he said just before, and whose purpose is to encourage himself to trust God, assuming this as a general principle that whoever sincerely invokes Jehovah God in his calamities, never encounters repulsion on his part. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow ” the call to divine grace in the midst of distress.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.